According to a new study, acupuncture could be an effective therapy for joint pain and stiffness in breast cancer patients who are being treated with commonly used hormonal therapies.

Researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, led the new study which found that joint pain and stiffness are common side effects of aromatase inhibitor therapy, in which the synthesis of estrogen is blocked.

It was previously shown that the therapy, which is a common and effective treatment for early-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer in post-menopausal women, causes some joint pain and stiffness in half of women being treated.

Dr. Dawn Hershman, senior author of the paper said," Since aromatase inhibitors have become an increasingly popular treatment option for some breast cancer patients, we aimed to find a non-drug option to manage the joint issues they often create, thereby improving quality of life and reducing the likelihood that patients would discontinue this potentially life-saving treatment."

43 women were randomly assigned by researchers to receive either true acupuncture or sham acupuncture twice a week for six weeks, to explore the effects of acupuncture on aromatase inhibitor-associated joint pain.

Dr. Katherine D. Crew, first author of the paper said," This study suggests that acupuncture may help women manage the joint pain and stiffness that can accompany aromatase inhibitor treatment." She further added," To our knowledge, this is the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial establishing that acupuncture may be an effective method to relieve joint problems caused by these medications. However, results still need to be confirmed in larger, multicenter studies." (With Input From Agencies)